The large vestibular aqueduct: A new definition based on audiologic and computed tomography correlation

Objective

The study goal was to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of a large vestibular aqueduct (LVA) in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

Study Design and Setting

We conducted a retrospective review of a pediatric SNHL database. One hundred seven children with SNHL were selected and their radiographic and audiometric studies were evaluated. Radiographic comparisons were made to a group of children without SNHL.

Results

A vestibular aqueduct (VA) larger than the 95th percentile of controls was present in 32% of children with SNHL. Progressive SNHL was more likely to occur in ears with an LVA and the rate of progressive hearing loss was greater than in ears without an LVA. The risk of progressive SNHL increased with increasing VA size as determined by logistic regression analysis.

Conclusions

An LVA is defined as one that is ≥2mm at the operculum and/or ≥1 mm at the midpoint in children with nonsyndromic SNHL. An LVA appears to be more common than previously reported in children with SNHL. A linear relationship is observed between VA width and progressive SNHL.

Significance

The finding of an LVA in children with SNHL provides diagnostic as well as prognostic information. © 2007 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. All rights reserved.

Abstract P6-13-22: Pharmacodynamics and consequences of PI3K inhibition in ER+ breast tumors

PI3K inhibitors have shown promise for the treatment of anti-estrogen-resistant ER+ breast cancers. Current PI3K inhibitor treatment regimens may incompletely and transiently inhibit the pathway in carcinomas, and are accompanied by significant adverse effects in patients. We hypothesized that short-term, complete inhibition of PI3K will have a greater anti-tumor effect and reduce systemic toxicity compared to chronic, partial inhibition.

Pharmacokinetic analysis of the orally available pan-PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941 at low (100 mg/kg) and high (800 mg/kg) doses in mice revealed that plasma levels peaked after 15-30 min, and decreased below the limit of detection within 24 h (low dose) and 72 h (high dose), respectively. Administering 2 doses at 100 mg/kg 12 h apart provided continuous drug exposure. Drug pharmacokinetics in MCF-7 tumors was similar.

Mice bearing s.c. MCF-7 tumors were treated with the anti-estrogen fulvestrant (fulv; 5 mg/wk) three days before GDC-0941 treatment to assess pharmacodynamic effects. Phospho-AKT and -S6 levels (markers of PI3K and mTORC1 activities, respectively) were inversely correlated with tumor drug concentrations. Mice bearing MCF-7, fulv-resistant T47D/FR, or HCC-003 patient-derived xenografts were treated with vehicle, fulv, GDC-0941 (100 mg/kg QD 5 d/wk; 100 mg/kg BID 3 d on/4 d off; 800 mg/kg QW), or combinations. Tumor growth curves indicated that different schedules of PI3K inhibition with fulv similarly induced tumor regression. Molecular analysis of MCF-7 tumors showed that fulv plus GDC-0941 QW induced 30.14% apoptosis (assessed by TUNEL) at 48 h, which dropped to baseline (2.72%) at 72 h. Fulv plus GDC-0941 BID induced 18.27% apoptosis at 24 h, and maintained apoptosis rate near 10% until 96 h (when GDC-0941 washed out), which is a rate similar to that observed with fulv plus GDC-0941 QD. Fulv plus GDC-0941 QW decreased cell proliferation (assessed by geminin and Ki67 staining) from 34.89% (baseline) to 11.46%, which rebounded to 60.54% at the time of GDC-0941 washout (at 96 h). Fulv plus GDC-0941 QD or BID modestly decreased cell proliferation to 28.84% and 24.32%, respectively, after 24 h, which returned to baseline after 36 h and 72 h, respectively, then maintained the level for a week. Temporal analysis of PI3K signaling revealed that fulv plus GDC-0941 QW and BID maximally decreased phospho-AKT levels after 3 h, which returned to baseline within 48 h and 72 h, respectively. With fulv + GDC-0941 QD, phospho-AKT levels decreased after 3 h, but rebounded to baseline within 24 h. These results indicate that 2 approaches to PI3K inhibition provide similar anti-tumor efficacy: 1) complete/intermittent (QW) PI3K inhibition induces a burst of apoptosis with a rebound in cell proliferation after drug clearance; and 2) metronomic/repeated (QD) PI3K inhibition repeatedly induces a smaller amount of apoptosis without significantly affecting cell proliferation. These findings may inform clinical testing of PI3K inhibitors to maximize therapeutic index.

Citation Format: Yang W, Bean J, Hosford S, Lloye D, Liu S, Salphati L, Pang J, Zhang X, Nannini M, Miller TW. Pharmacodynamics and consequences of PI3K inhibition in ER+ breast tumors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-13-22.

Oral risedronate sodium improves bone mineral density in non-ambulatory patients: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial

AIMS

Investigate the efficacy of risedronate sodium (Procter and Gamble, Cincinnati, USA) for treating reduced lumbar spine (LS) bone mineral density (BMD) in non-ambulatory patients.

METHODS

Nine (10-39 years, mean age 23.0 years, 7 males) in the risedronate arm and 10 (10-35 years, mean age 21.4 years, 8 males) in the placebo arm completed 24 months of therapy at baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. The primary outcome was change in LS BMD assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Secondary outcomes included changes in serum bone markers, bone specific alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and N-telopeptides. Mixed models examined group, time, and the group by time interaction for the 4 post-baseline time points.

RESULTS

The change in LS BMD score from baseline to 24 months was 0.069 (95% CI 0.014 to 0.124) in risedronate participants compared to -0.015 (95% CI -0.073 to 0.042) (t Value = -2.40, P > t=0.03) in the controls. When controlling for baseline scores, the difference was consistent across four post-baseline time points tested (F=5.67, Pr > F=0.03). No differences in serum bone markers were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Risedronate increases LS BMD in non-ambulatory patients with minimal side effects.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of juvenile fibromyalgia: a multisite, single-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

Juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic musculoskeletal pain disorder in children and adolescents for which there are no evidence-based treatments. The objective of this multisite, single-blind, randomized clinical trial was to test whether cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was superior to fibromyalgia (FM) education in reducing functional disability, pain, and symptoms of depression in juvenile FMS.

METHODS

Participants were 114 adolescents (ages 11-18 years) with juvenile FMS. After receiving stable medications for 8 weeks, patients were randomized to either CBT or FM education and received 8 weekly individual sessions with a therapist and 2 booster sessions. Assessments were conducted at baseline, immediately following the 8-week treatment phase, and at 6-month followup.

RESULTS

The majority of patients (87.7%) completed the trial per protocol. Intent-to-treat analyses showed that patients in both groups had significant reductions in functional disability, pain, and symptoms of depression at the end of the study, and CBT was significantly superior to FM education in reducing the primary outcome of functional disability (mean baseline to end-of-treatment difference between groups 5.39 [95% confidence interval 1.57, 9.22]). Reduction in symptoms of depression was clinically significant for both groups, with mean scores in the range of normal/nondepressed by the end of the study. Reduction in pain was not clinically significant for either group (<30% decrease in pain). There were no study-related adverse events.

CONCLUSION

In this controlled trial, CBT was found to be a safe and effective treatment for reducing functional disability and symptoms of depression in adolescents with juvenile FMS.

The effects of an intensive behavior and nutrition intervention compared to standard of care on weight outcomes in CF

Inadequate intake and suboptimal growth are common problems for patients with CF and a critical target for intervention. The purpose of this study was to compare the growth outcomes of children with CF who participated in a randomized clinical trial to improve energy intake and weight to children with CF receiving standard of care during the same time period. Our primary outcome was change in body mass index z-score (BMI z-score) over 2 years. An exploratory outcome was forced expiratory volume at 1-sec (FEV(1) ) over 2 years. Participants were children ages 4-12 with CF, who participated in a randomized clinical trial of behavior plus nutrition intervention versus nutrition education alone, and a matched Comparison Sample receiving standard of care drawn from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) Registry. Children in the Clinical Trial Group (N=67) participated in a 9-week, nutrition intervention and were followed at regular intervals (3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months) for 2 years post-treatment to obtain anthropometric and pulmonary function data. For each child in the Comparison Sample (N=346), these measures were obtained from the CFF Registry at matching intervals for the 27-month period corresponding to the clinical trial. Over 27 months, children in the Clinical Trial Group (the combined sample of the behavior plus nutrition and the nutrition alone) demonstrated significantly less decline in BMI z-score, -0.05 (SD=0.68, CI= -0.23 to 0.13), as compared to children in the Comparison Sample, -0.21 (SD=0.67, CI= -0.31 to -0.11). No statistically significant differences were found for decline in FEV(1) between children in the Clinical Trial Group and the Comparison Sample. The key implication of these findings is that intensive behavioral and nutritional intervention is effective and needs to be adapted so that it can be broadly disseminated into clinical practice.

Review of Florida Red Tide and Human Health Effects

This paper reviews the literature describing research performed over the past decade on the known and possible exposures and human health effects associated with Florida red tides. These harmful algal blooms are caused by the dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and similar organisms, all of which produce a suite of natural toxins known as brevetoxins. Florida red tide research has benefited from a consistently funded, long term research program, that has allowed an interdisciplinary team of researchers to focus their attention on this specific environmental issue-one that is critically important to Gulf of Mexico and other coastal communities. This long-term interdisciplinary approach has allowed the team to engage the local community, identify measures to protect public health, take emerging technologies into the field, forge advances in natural products chemistry, and develop a valuable pharmaceutical product. The Review includes a brief discussion of the Florida red tide organisms and their toxins, and then focuses on the effects of these toxins on animals and humans, including how these effects predict what we might expect to see in exposed people.

The impact of early nutrition on incidence of allergic manifestations and common respiratory illnesses in children

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the incidence of allergic and respiratory diseases through age 3 years in children fed docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)- and arachidonic acid (ARA)-supplemented formula during infancy.

STUDY DESIGN

Children who completed randomized, double-blind studies of DHA/ARA-supplemented (0.32%-0.36%/0.64%-0.72% of total fatty acids, respectively) versus nonsupplemented (control) formulas, fed during the first year of life, were eligible. Blinded study nurses reviewed medical charts for upper respiratory infection (URI), wheezing, asthma, bronchiolitis, bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, otitis media, sinusitis, atopic dermatitis (AD), and urticaria.

RESULTS

From the 2 original cohorts, 89/179 children participated; 38/89 were fed DHA/ARA formula. The DHA/ARA group had significantly lower odds for developing URI (odds ratio [OR], 0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.08-0.58), wheezing/asthma (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.11-0.97), wheezing/asthma/AD (OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.09-0.67), or any allergy (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.72). The control group had significantly shorter time to first diagnosis of URI (P = .006), wheezing/asthma (P = .03), or any allergy (P = .006).

CONCLUSIONS

DHA/ARA supplementation was associated with delayed onset and reduced incidence of URIs and common allergic diseases up to 3 years of age.

Baseline BMI is a strong predictor of nadir BMI after adolescent gastric bypass

OBJECTIVE

Surgical treatment of extreme obesity may be appropriate for some adolescents. We hypothesized that surgical weight loss outcomes may differ by preoperative level of extreme obesity (body mass index [BMI] > or=99th percentile).

STUDY DESIGN

A longitudinal assessment of clinical characteristics from 61 adolescents who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at a single pediatric center from 2002 until 2007 was performed. Patients were categorized into 1 of 3 preoperative BMI groups: group 1, BMI = 40.0 to 54.9 (n = 23); group 2, BMI = 55.0 to 64.9 (n = 21); group 3, BMI = 65.0 to 95.0 (n = 17). Changes in BMI and cardiovascular risk factors between baseline and year 1 were evaluated using repeated-measures mixed linear modeling.

RESULTS

BMI in the overall cohort at baseline (60.2 +/- 11 kg/m(2)) decreased by 37.4% at 1 year after surgery (P < .001). Percent BMI change varied little by preoperative BMI groups (-37.2%, -36.8%, and -37.7% for groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively; P = .8762). The rate of change in absolute BMI units significantly varied by preoperative BMI class (group x time interaction, P < .0001), with 1-year nadir BMI values for groups 1, 2, and 3 falling to 31 +/- 4 kg/m(2), 38 +/- 5 kg/m(2), and 47 +/- 9 kg/m(2), respectively. One year after surgery, only 17% of patients achieved a nonobese BMI (<30 kg/m(2)). Significant improvements in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P < .0001), fasting insulin (P < .0001), total cholesterol (P = .0007), and triglyceride levels (P < .0001) were seen after surgery irrespective of baseline BMI class. Mean albumin levels remained normal despite significant caloric restriction and weight loss.

CONCLUSIONS

Laparoscopic gastric bypass resulted in improvement or reversal of cardiovascular risk factors and resulted in a decrease in BMI of approximately 37% in all patients, regardless of starting BMI, 1 year after surgery. The timing of surgery for adolescent extreme obesity is an important consideration, because "late" referral for bariatric surgery at the highest of BMI values may preclude reversal of obesity.

Dental Development in Children with Growth Hormone Insensitivity Syndrome: Demirjian Analysis of Serial Panoramic Radiographs

Objective:

This study evaluates the effects of 8 years of insulinlike growth factor-I therapy on tooth development in patients with growth hormone insensitivity syndrome.

Methods:

Forty-nine panoramic radiographs were evaluated from eight patients (six boys, two girls). Seven teeth in the mandibular left region were graded according to the Demirjian system. Radiographs were taken at the start of insulinlike growth factor-I therapy and were continued at approximately yearly intervals for 8 years.

Results:

Three of six boys and one of two girls who began treatment with insulinlike growth factor-I at earlier ages experienced an increase in the rate of tooth development. One of six boys who began treatment with insulinlike growth factor-I at a later age had a slower rate of dental development. The patients had more rapid tooth maturation during the beginning of treatment. By the end of treatment, all patients had normal dental maturity for their age.

Conclusions:

Treatment of growth hormone insensitivity syndrome with insulinlike growth factor-I appears to lead to an increase in dental maturation, particularly in younger patients. After 8 years all patients had achieved normal dental development.

Reversal of type 2 diabetes mellitus and improvements in cardiovascular risk factors after surgical weight loss in adolescents

OBJECTIVES

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, all well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Surgical weight loss has resulted in a marked reduction of these risk factors in adults. We hypothesized that gastric bypass would improve parameters of metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular risk in adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eleven adolescents who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at 5 centers were included. Anthropometric, hemodynamic, and biochemical measures and surgical complications were analyzed. Similar measures from 67 adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were treated medically for 1 year were also analyzed.

RESULTS

Adolescents who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass were extremely obese (mean BMI of 50 +/- 5.9 kg/m(2)) with numerous cardiovascular risk factors. After surgery there was evidence of remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus in all but 1 patient. Significant improvements in BMI (-34%), fasting blood glucose (-41%), fasting insulin concentrations (-81%), hemoglobin A1c levels (7.3%-5.6%), and insulin sensitivity were also seen. There were significant improvements in serum lipid levels and blood pressure. In comparison, adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were followed during 1 year of medical treatment demonstrated stable body weight (baseline BMI: 35 +/- 7.3 kg/m(2); 1-year BMI: 34.9 +/- 7.2 kg/m(2)) and no significant change in blood pressure or in diabetic medication use. Medically managed patients had significantly improved hemoglobin A1c levels over 1 year (baseline: 7.85% +/- 2.3%; 1 year: 7.1% +/- 2%).

CONCLUSIONS

Extremely obese diabetic adolescents experience significant weight loss and remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Improvements in insulin resistance, beta-cell function, and cardiovascular risk factors support Roux-en-Y gastric bypass as an intervention that improves the health of these adolescents. Although the long-term efficacy of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is not known, these findings suggest that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is an effective option for the treatment of extremely obese adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The combined approach to lysis utilizing eptifibatide and rt-PA in acute ischemic stroke: the CLEAR stroke trial

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Multiple approaches are being studied to enhance the rate of thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke. Treatment of myocardial infarction with a combination of a reduced-dose fibrinolytic agent and a glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist has been shown to improve the rate of recanalization versus fibrinolysis alone. The combined approach to lysis utilizing eptifibatide and recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) (CLEAR) stroke trial assessed the safety of treating acute ischemic stroke patients within 3 hours of symptom onset with this combination.

METHODS

The CLEAR trial was a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-funded multicenter, double-blind, randomized, dose-escalation and safety study. Patients were randomized 3:1 to either low-dose rt-PA (tier 1=0.3 mg/kg, tier 2=0.45 mg/kg) plus eptifibatide (75 microg/kg bolus followed by 0.75 microg/kg per min infusion for 2 hours) or standard-dose rt-PA (0.9 mg/kg). The primary safety end point was the incidence of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage within 36 hours. Secondary analyses were performed regarding clinical efficacy.

RESULTS

Ninety-four patients (40 in tier 1 and 54 in tier 2) were enrolled. The combination group of the 2 dose tiers (n=69) had a median age of 71 years and a median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 14, and the standard-dose rt-PA group (n=25) had a median age of 61 years and a median baseline NIHSS score of 10 (P=0.01 for NIHSS score). Fifty-two (75%) of the combination treatment group and 24 (96%) of the standard treatment group had a baseline modified Rankin scale score of 0 (P=0.04). There was 1 (1.4%; 95% CI, 0% to 4.3%) symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage in the combination group and 2 (8.0%; 95% CI, 0% to 19.2%) in the rt-PA-only arm (P=0.17). During randomization in tier 2, a review by the independent data safety monitoring board demonstrated that the safety profile of combination therapy at the tier 2 doses was such that further enrollment was statistically unlikely to indicate inadequate safety for the combination treatment group, the ultimate outcome of the study. Thus, the study was halted. There was a trend toward increased clinical efficacy of standard-dose rt-PA compared with the combination treatment group.

CONCLUSIONS

The safety of the combination of reduced-dose rt-PA plus eptifibatide justifies further dose-ranging trials in acute ischemic stroke.